Women taking Addyi, a pill designed to boost their sex drive, get only one additional satisfying sexual experience every second month, according to a Dutch study.
The "female Viagra" has failed to gain a sizable following since it was approved by US regulators in August for premenopausal women. It has side effects including dizziness, sleepiness, nausea and fatigue, the study, published in Jama Internal Medicine, found.
Researchers at Erasmus University Medical Centre, in Rotterdam, analysed the results of eight clinical trials involving 5914 women.
The active constituent, flib-anserin, should not be recommended in treatment guidelines or routinely prescribed until studies prove its benefits in a wider range of women, researchers said.
"The findings suggest the benefits of flibanserin treatment are marginal," they said.
Tage Ramakrishna, chief medical officer at Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which manufactures Addyi, said that in all three of the drug's pivotal trials there was a significant increase in the number of sexually satisfying experiences women had after taking the drug.
"It is crucial that women suffering from [depressed] sexual desire disorder are able to speak to their physician about the range of options to manage the condition," Ramakrishna said.
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